Downtime
by Wax Colorfully
Summary: Bonds do not strengthen on the battlefield alone. A collection of moments between the Shepherds and their lady tactician. 3/28/13 Update: The lady tactician finds something unexpected while taking inventory, and Henry is to blame.
1. Laundry Day

As expected, Gaius finds the Shepherds' tactician inside the large tent reserved for strategy meetings with only large, hardbound book for company.

"Hey Bubbles, care to help me with my laundry?"

He hears her mutter something about strange nicknames before looking up from her book and back at him as he stands in front of the tent's entrance. "Not what I was expecting to hear from you. What's this about?"

"Cordelia got on my case about my clothes being in need of a good wash. Figure I'd do something about it before she catches me again and gives me another earful of laundry advice," Gaius replies with a roll of his eyes. "So, gonna put down that dusty old tome and help your ol' pal out? I've got a cookie with your name on it if you do..."

"You do realize I could be studying up on some battle history that could help turn the tides in our next march." She raises the open book in her hands to further her point.

"Or you could be staring blankly at the page, desperately needing a break but stubbornly trying to slog through more text anyway," he counters. Gaius breaks into a lopsided grin as her dark eyes widen in surprise.

"You always get this 'I'm thinking' look on your face when you're really focused. Didn't see it this time, so I figured I wasn't taking you away from anything super important," he explains before she can ask. "So are you coming, or what?"

"...That cookie better be worth it," she relents with a resigned sigh as she marks her place and closes the book before rising from her seat to leave.

It takes a good amount of effort, but Gaius manages to tone down his triumphant smirk to a bearable level as he holds the tent flap open for her.

x

"I know better than to ask when was the last time you washed your clothes," she begins. Gaius has a feeling she's probably spotted that one stain on the back of the left pant leg that even he doesn't know where it came from. "But just how many sweet shops have you robbed lately and how in the world do you keep all of this on you?"

He hears the rustling of fabric and candy wrappers as she drops another handful of sugary confections into the bag holding the rest of the candy she found tucked away in his pockets. Deeming his cloak presentable, he draws it from the stream before looking back to his laundry helper's progress. The once empty bag has begun to bulge at the seams from the massive amount of candy, threatening to spill at a moment's notice.

"I'll have you know that I paid for most of those," he replies as he wrings the excess water of his freshly washed cloak before walking a few paces over and spreading the garment out over a large, flat rock to dry.

"As for my stash, I keep it on me because of what I do. As much as I'd love to keep all this sugary goodness in one nice, safe place, I'd get too easy to track if I kept coming and going to wherever I keep my stash." He dries his hands on his shirt as he approaches and produces another empty sack from one of his larger side pockets. Quickly and carefully, he transfers handfuls of candy to the new bag. "Besides, I can't think of a safer place to keep my sweets than with me."

"Fair enough," she replies a small nod and sets the now candy-free pair of pants next to him. "This one's all clear and ready for the drink."

Gaius thanks her as he sets the second bag full of sweets next to the first, stopping briefly to snatch up a lollipop from the first bag. He makes short work of the wrapper and hums in contentment as he closes his mouth around the candy. With his need for sugar sated for the time being, he picks the unwashed pants and moves closer to the water's edge. As he sets to work on scrubbing out a particularly stubborn stain, the tactician procures a shirt from basket containing the rest of unwashed garments and proceeds to screen the clothing article for candy just as she did with the one before it.

"Maybe you should consider storing part of your stash at the base in the future. I'm sure there's space somewhere in the larder where you can hide all of this," she suggests as she gestures to the two large sacks of candy on the ground. "Unless you plan on leaving the Shepherds anytime soon, that is."

He stops scrubbing and turns toward her with a quirked brow. "And give up the opportunity to be paid in gold and candy for my work? No self-respecting thief would walk away from such a sweet deal."

"Right, what ever was I thinking," she says with a chuckle and a good-natured eye roll.

"Sometimes, I wonder," he remarks teasingly. "Besides, you've seen the women in this army. Eye candy all around. Present company included, of course."

He quickly follows his statement with a winning grin and a wink; a tactic he's used on women while out on the job in as a last ditch effort to keep them from sounding the alarm while he makes his escape.

The tactician only responds with an amused, exasperated shake of her head. "Flatter all you want Gaius, but I am not touching your underwear or your dirty socks. You'll be washing those."

Said maneuver's success rate did vary in the field. Gaius allows himself a small laugh before returning to washing the garment in hand. "Can't blame a guy for trying, Bubbles."

x

"I've been meaning to ask, but of all the nicknames you could have come up with, why Bubbles?" she asks.

Gaius hands her the promised cookie before grabbing another from the jar for himself. He takes a moment to appreciate the baked treat in his hand and licks his lips in anticipation. "Does it bother you?"

"I have to admit, it's grown on me. Much like a bad rash," she says with a smile before continuing. "But you've given more obvious ones to Sumia and Chrom. I'm curious as to what your thoughts were behind the one you gave me."

"I guess it just fit at the time. After all, you nearly caught me in the bath," he replies before taking a bite of his cookie, chewing it slowly and savoring it with an audible hum.

She stops nibbling and sighs into her treat. "Bah, don't remind me about that. I've had enough bath time run-ins for a life time."

Gaius blinks before swallowing his latest bite.

"You sayin' I'm not the only guy you've walked in on," he begins as his mouth pulls into a devious grin, "or did someone walk in on you?"

The less than ideal timing of his question nearly costs the Shepherds their tactician by means of a mouthful of cookie going down the wrong pipe; Gaius takes this as a resounding yes on both accounts.

* * *

Author's Notes: Had way too much fun writing Gaius. Trying something different and keeping the Avatar/Female!Tactician nameless. It seems like the right thing to do in my mind since said unit isn't really limited to a certain name. Do let me know if this works/doesn't work for you. Thanks for giving this a read!


	2. Unsettling Discoveries

Author's Notes: Sincerest apologies for the delay, dear readers. Originally, I was going to have Stahl take the limelight for this installment, but the plot bunny managed to break away before I could bring it to completion. Just when I thought I'd never get around to updating, Henry graciously decided to lend himself to my aid, and who am I to refuse to his help?

I can't believe how much support this fic has so far. Many thanks to all of you who are following/favorited this fic and all my love to those of you who left reviews! Feedback is love, and am truly grateful to all of you for it. With that said, please enjoy this latest installment!

* * *

There once was a time where there were no sightings of disembodied limbs within the Shepherds' camp grounds. This was before they took in a second Plegian dark mage into their fold. The Shepherds' chief tactician soon finds that she may have taken those times for granted.

x

The strategist slams the lid of the storage trunk shut. Perhaps Chrom is right. Maybe she has been working herself too hard lately, and now exhaustion must be taking its toll on her vision. Why else would she see something like _that_ be in the same trunk used to store the army's unused spell tomes, let alone anywhere near their supplies in the first place? She blinks twice, draws in a deep breath, and pushes up the lid once more.

The severed head of a fighter Risen stares back at her, eyes absent of the eerie red glow she's accustomed to seeing and mouth slightly agape.

The tactician closes the trunk, albeit slower and quieter this time, before immediately rising to her feet and exiting the weapons storage tent. A certain dark mage has some explaining to do.

x

She didn't think that Henry's ever present smile to could grow any wider; he quickly disproves this idea upon opening the trunk and viewing its contents at her insistence.

"You found it! I've been looking everywhere for this!" Henry exclaims as he holds the disembodied head aloft in both hands.

The Shepherds' tactician tries not to cringe at the sight while silently thanking the gods that the two of them were the only ones present in the tent. "I'm going to hazard a guess and say you picked that up after our last skirmish."

"Sure did! You should have been there to see it! One fell swoop from Cherche's axe, and whoosh! Off with his head!" he replies gleefully, giving the head a light toss in the air to further embellish his succinct description of the events prior to the procurement of his prize.

"I...see," she manages as the rest of her appetite leaves her. Looks as if she wouldn't need to stop by the mess tent before attending the next strategy meeting after all.

"You know, it's just too bad Risen don't bleed," Henry says with a longing sigh. "Just think of all the blood we've been missing out on!"

"...I actually try not to think about that too much. Or, at all." A shudder wracks her form at the thought and she quickly tries to banish it from her mind.

One look at her comrade's expression tells her that her response is lost upon the dark mage. Only thoughts of bloodshed and carnage could make the smile on Henry's face look so wistful.

She clears her throat and tries to start up conversation anew. "So, why a head? Did you not find out anything from that arm you picked up a while back?"

"Yeah, the arm was a bust. Didn't learn a thing even if I did have loads of fun dissecting it," he replies as he supports the severed head with one hand while using his free hand to pry its mouth open wider. "So I got to thinking that just because I didn't find any in that arm doesn't mean there aren't weakness in other body parts!"

"Well, there's certainly no denying your logic..." The Shepherds' tactician admits, making an effort to keep her eyes on the speaker and not on the remains of their undead foe currently in his possession.

For the second time since they entered the tent, Henry's already wide smile shows it still has room to grow. "Right? So I decided I'd start with this!"

Henry turns the head around and she finds herself under the gaze of both the upbeat dark mage and the Risen's dismembered head. By this point, she isn't sure which of the two disturbs her more.

"No better way to get into the enemy's head than to open it up and look inside, right? Nya ha ha!" Henry declares with a sharp rap of his knuckles against the top of the head, as if he were knocking on a door.

She smiles weakly, finding herself at a loss for words as she redirects the better part of her energies to keep from outright bolting from the tent.

"So, wanna examine this with me? It's still got all its teeth and everything!" Henry cajoles.

"I've still got some inventorying to get done. Why don't you go ahead and start without me?" The words flow from her lips with surprising ease given her complete unease at the subject matter.

"Aww, okay. Thanks again for finding this," he replies as he heads for the exit.

The tactician nods in acknowledgement and smiles genuinely, happy to be rid of the severed remains' presence, before back to the chest to inventory the Shepherd's stock of tomes like she originally intended before her unfortunate discovery.

"Oh, but I can't start just yet," Henry adds as afterthought. "I've still got other parts to find. I'm sure they're all somewhere around the camp..."

She stiffens at his words, her eyes going impossibly wide and a feeling of dread mounting in her chest. "...O-other parts?"

What she wouldn't give at this very moment to trade inventory duty with someone else.

x

A piercing shriek from the direction of the storage tents effectively interrupts the planning of tomorrow's march. The tactician winces. Even with Henry's help, apparently not all the parts the Plegian collected had been found. Worse still, out of all the people to come across Henry's specimens, it just had to be Maribelle. She silently hopes that Henry would successfully placate her, lest he experience "parasol fu" by the noblewoman's hand.

As expected, Chrom immediately rises to his feet upon hearing Maribelle's scream. She immediately takes hold of Chrom's wrist before he can bolt for the tent's entry flap and stops his protests with a knowing look before the words leave his lips. She releases an exasperated sigh before shaking her and motioning for him to take his seat. With a trace of reluctance, Chrom complies despite his visible unease with letting the distress go unchecked. The tactician gives him a reassuring smile before beginning her recount of her firsthand encounter with Henry's new collection.

After all, how could she let the opportunity to suggest adding a new chest, solely for the keeping of any other Risen parts Henry deems worthy for study, to the storage when the situation lent itself to her favor?

x

In recent days, the occasional sighting of severed Risen body parts within the camp grounds no longer alarms the Shepherds and the blame falls solely upon a certain smiling Plegian dark mage. The Shepherds' tactician still misses the times where this wasn't the case, but eventually she and the rest of the Shepherds make their peace with the new status quo. Even if it means finding a few unwelcome surprises in the storage tents from time to time.


End file.
